Welcome back to the Weird, the Wild, & the Wicked. Today is Thursday and that means it’s time to start flashing! Three more weeks to go until we hit 4 years doing this. Shall we plan a big celebration? This is Week 205 of #ThursThreads, the challenge that ties tales together. Want to keep up each week? Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook.

Need the rules? Read on.

Here's how it works:

The prompt is a line from the previous week's winning tale.

The prompt can appear ANYWHERE in your story and is included in your word count.

The prompt must be used as is. It can be split, but no intervening words can be inserted or tenses changed.

Rules to the Game:

This is a Flash Fiction challenge, which means your story must be a minimum of 100 words, maximum of 250.

The story must be new writing, not a snippet from something published elsewhere with the prompt added.

Incorporate the prompt anywhere into your story (included in your word count).

Post your story in the comments section of this post

Include your word count (or be excluded from judging)

Include your Twitter handle or email (so we know how to find you)

The challenge is open 7 AM to 8 PM Mountain Time

The winner will be announced on Friday, depending on how early the judge gets up.

How it benefits you:

You get a nifty cool badge to display on your blog or site (because we're all about promotion - you know you are!)

The cornflower-blue dress hung from wide straps over pink, freckled shoulders. Its square collar line edged higher on the back than the front displaying the soft valley of her cleavage. While the faded fabric pretended to the flow elegantly down her body, drying mud and wheat spores kept it humble. A soft breeze fluttered the hem bisecting scabbed knees.

Her thick, dark hair had been wrapped hastily at the back of her head, held in place with a twig she’d picked from the ground before entering the field. Closing her emerald eyes, she stopped her trek into the field, and bowed her head. She hated being here, and what she had to do, but a deal’s a deal.

Around her, amber stalks bent away from her in a perfect circle as though a microburst broke from above, crashing to the ground, and sending its tendrils to lay everything but her flat. She tilted her head back, bringing her sorrowful gaze to the sky. The tears she cried found their way to her hair, turning the dust to mud. The despair flowing from her wasn’t only for what lay in the future, but also for the loaves of the bread lost from this spoiled harvest.

Sometimes I wonder why Lucifer doesn’t break his contract with my grandmother - just take her gifts away as easily as he gave them. I voice my thoughts to Marcus, and he looks at me like I should know the answer. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“No?”

“A deal’s a deal, Videl. Lucifer’s word binds him.” He pushes himself off the wall he’s leaning on, stretching his arms above his head. “Even if he could revoke the agreement, it would mean giving you back.” He looks away, but not before I catch a glimpse of pain in his eyes.

“Oh.” The thought never occurred to me. Is it possible to turn a demon back into a human? Not like I can go back to living a normal life after all this, anyway. My mother has a new life and family. There’s no way in hell I’d live with my grandmother, either. “Guess that’s out of the question, then.”

Marcus looks over at me, eyes curious. “Do you want to be human again?”

“To be honest? I don’t know.” I shrug, turning my attention back to the mirror we’ve been using to watch my mother. She’s going through her morning workout. “Not sure I’d be able to adjust, to tell you the truth.”

“Why not?”

It’s a valid question, but I don’t think he’s expecting my answer. Instead of a reason relating to my mother or grandmother, I say the first words that come to mind. “I think I’d miss you too much.”

“Only one thing can be done to save us all,” Loki declared. “We must shutter them away. A deal is a deal.”

A gasp rippled through the attendees followed by a slight nodding of their heads. The dragons once so mighty and benign now posed a menacing and malignant problem. Everyone in Asgard agreed, except for one.

One lone goddess wouldn’t let fear destroy her family. Her children.

Frigga backed away, leaving them all, and descended down to the dragons’ lair hidden beneath the caverns of the town’s castle. In the nest, six eggs waited to hatch. She tucked one of the eggs into the folds of her gown, quietly left the room, and headed to the year 1980.

Frigga dipped into the shadows of a time she’d never been. Loud noises assaulted her, as pedestrians wandered along the cobblestone streets.

Across from the ancient temple, she located her faithful servant, and whispered words that would have to bring redemption. She then tapped the egg with the enchanted sword, and with a last touch of the green and gold shell, she cast a warm smile at the woman waiting in the wings. Here the egg would be protected. Here they all could gain a chance.

In a matter of minutes, the dragon egg started to rock back and forth. The egg’s shell began to crack.

The servant’s eyes grew wide.

For instead of a dragon’s squeal, a loud cry echoed off of the rafters and out peeked a baby.

Ten years ago I made an agreement with my best friend and now the pact had come due. “A deal’s a deal,” my best friend Mordechai had replied; we then cut our fingers and blended our blood to seal the bargain. I’d been trusting, a naive seven year old, orphan, in love with the idea of love and yet that accord had been upheld by the high council. Not following through would be banishment from my people. Who was I kidding? I loved Mordechai; but I couldn’t put him in danger...the danger that would occur after my seventeenth birthday. For the change would occur; I bore the mark on my shoulder.
I adjust my veil and straightened my gown breathing in. In minutes the ceremony was over and I was Mordechai’s wife. Mordechai carried me over his shoulder and straight to a honeymoon suite. After he ravished me he said, “I love you Imogene.”
“I love you too,” I admitted, “But tomorrow...”
“Tomorrow I will join my bride on her new journey,” Mordechai answered.
“But how?”
“Imogene did you never peek at my shoulder? I too bear the mark of the sea serpent dragon,” Mordechai said revealing a serpent on his shoulder. “My love will always be together. One day a month we can be human and the rest you and I shall spend under the sea wreaking havoc on those who plunder the sea.”
I smiled for I knew with Mordechai I never be alone again.
246 words
@SweetSheil

Smoke refused to look at Leigh. If he did, he’d lose his shit. He knew she was in the far corner of the basement, tied up. He scented her blood and his wolf was howling to get out. Not. Yet. First, he had to neutralize the three men in the room with her.

Two had circled behind him, cutting him off from the stairwell to the ground floor. He ignored them. A small window on the outside wall let in a sliver of moonlight. A match flared then the wick on a kerosene lantern. The light had no effect on his vision.

“Didn’t figure you’d actually come, Jenner. The bitch must mean something to you after all.”

“A deal’s a deal, Beene. She walks out of here then we talk.”

“You dumb ass. You really think I’m gonna let her go free?” The old man with the crazy eyes threw his head back and howled with laughter. “She’s gonna look like Marianne when I’m done.”

His gut tightened. Did Beene still hold him responsible for Marianne’s injuries? For her suicide? And what had he already done to Leigh? She was breathing, the sound labored, and the iron-rich scent of her blood almost brought him to his knees.

His voice jittered up her nerves. Adrenaline zipped through her veins. Her breath hitched painfully. She tried to calm the terrified infant. “Shh,” she crooned. “Mama’s gonna make it okay.”

“For fuck sake, give me the brat already.”

Seeing him rise spurred Betsy into action. “Wait,” she screamed, startling Todd to a stop. “Just wait, okay?” She sank to her knees in the dirt, her wails mingling with those of the still shrilling infant.

“You’re making it worse, you know.”

“Shut up,” Betsy sobbed as she laid the squalling babe on the ground. She tugged the pistol from her tattered top, and fired.

Todd’s mouth opened in an O that mimicked the gunshot wound on his forehead. His legs and heart gave way and he fell.

Betsy grabbed her daughter, sidestepped Todd’s body, snatched the cash he’d accepted in exchange for the infant, slid into the truck. She hastily mixed the formula, offered the bottle. The sudden silence hurt almost as much as the wailing and the gunshot. $150K cash would buy their safety. She started the truck, wiped her tears, and pulled away from her past and toward a new life with her daughter buckled in beside her.

On the one hand, I can hardly be mad at him. On the other, a deal's a deal. Rubbing my face, I draw in a deep breath.

"Jimmy, I'm not mad." I kneel on the cold bathroom floor. "But you promised you'd talk to me before you did this again." He tucks into himself as blood drips from his arm. "Have I ignored you?" He shakes his head. "What happened?"

He drops the razor blade, trembling. I reach for a towel and drape it over him. "They're going to kill me."

"You said you never wanted to go through that again, remember?" I squeeze his hand. "What called you to come back?"

He bites his chapped lower lip. "Cocaine. Heroin."

"Next time, talk to me, okay? I know that's hard, but it's easier than cutting." He's cut too deep before and I fear he'll be committed if he does it again. "Can I clean your cuts?"

He stands with help. I pull him into a hug and kiss his cheek, then help him rinse off with cold water. "I love you, Jimmy. I don't care how loud they get, the drugs are never going to win."

He bites his lip. "They're loud. They'll win again."

I wish he was wrong.

@Aightball
250 words

BarbeCrabtree

2/25/2016 06:23:11 pm

Bob and Jeff sat looking at each other, an uncomfortable silence between them. The police officers had just left after quizzing them both for an ominous incident. Obviously their answers had satisfied the police as neither of them had been taken down to the precinct office for further questioning over the missing woman.

Jeff smiled wryly, “Make mine a double!” he said, using their usual remark whenever they were in a tight spot, which as teenaged twins, happened fairly regularly.

“Don’t bother” replied Bob, “I’m done with booze. That’s a scary situation and I don’t even remember being at that place.” He stared at his brother as if to read his mind, or see what was in his head. There was no usual breakthrough. As twins, they often communicated mentally, relying on their insights into each other’s brains, but this time there was nothing.

According to the recently departed police, an Asian waitress was missing. The boys had been questioned due to the use of an identified credit card at her workplace on the night of her disappearance. They both denied having been there that night, claiming the card had been missing for over a week.

“A deal’s a deal, bro.”

“Forget it! You were drunk when we made that promise and you wouldn’t even have remembered it if I hadn’t brought it up. Speaking of bringing it up, sure a shame about all that delicious Chinese food we ate after we left the bar the other night.”

247 Words
barbara.crabtree@shaw.ca

Siobhan

2/25/2016 08:01:46 pm

#ThursThreads is now CLOSED. Thanks to everyone who wrote this week and I hope to catch you next week.

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About Me

Siobhan Muir lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and writes kick-ass adventure with hot sex for men and women to enjoy. She believes in happily-ever-after, redemption, and communication, all of which you'll find in her romance stories of all genres.